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WEST JORDAN — A West Jordan mother charged with murdering her 13-day-old boy has been arrested in Georgia.
Maria Elena Sullivan, 26, was arrested Sunday as she checked out of Northside Cherokee Hospital in Canton, Georgia.
Cherokee Sheriff's Sgt. Marianne Kelley said she was unaware of why Sullivan was in the hospital or how long she had been there.
Sullivan "made some concerning statements" to the hospital staff while she was there, which prompted the staff to contact the officer stationed at the hospital, Kelley said. The officer ran a background check on Sullivan and discovered she had a $1 million warrant for her arrest on Salt Lake County charges of murder, a first-degree felony, and three counts of child abuse with serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony.
She was immediately taken into custody and is being held in Georgia without bail pending an extradition hearing to return her to Utah.
Sullivan and Dylan James Kitzmiller, 21, are both charged with murder in the death of Sullivan's infant child. Kitzmiller was Sullivan's boyfriend at the time but is not the child's biological father.
Sullivan's newborn child died on Sept. 17 of severe brain injury, according to charging documents. The boy was dehydrated and had lost weight since birth in addition to suffering a number of other injuries, including a fractured arm that appeared to be a "fresh" injury, a broken rib and an injured spinal cord, charges state.
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Man charged with murder in death of 13-day-old boy arrested
A man wanted for murder in the death of a 13-day-boy has been arrested.When Kitzmiller became angry, he would grab the infant "by the shoulder, causing his head to flip, and throw the newborn baby up in the air," according to court documents. Police say he also slapped and bit the young child.
The boy was born Sept. 4 with no known medical problem, charges state. Sullivan was living with Kitzmiller at the time in the basement of one of Kitzmiller's relatives.
Prosecutors contend that despite the continued abuse, Sullivan "never sought medical care" for the infant or did anything to try and stop it.
Kitzmiller was arrested in Utah County Friday night.
